Development through life transitions? An empirical study of men’s development in emotion regulation during cancer, fatherhood, and retirement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/pl.v43i2.137307Keywords:
Life transitions, emotion regulation, fathers, retirees, testicular cancer patients, well-beingAbstract
It is empirically well established that older adults do not report lower life
satisfaction levels than younger adults. Many 80-year-old individuals experience
fewer negative emotions than 20-year-olds do. Why is old age not
associated with low quality of life and negative affect when most people
experience loss, reduced physical functioning and disease over the course of
life? An improved ability to manage distress and regulate the emotional
response to life stressors in late life could explain this paradox of ageing. If
adults continuously develop adaptive emotion regulation, such development
may accelerate during periods of change where the individual meet new
challenges and established strategies may be inefficient.
In this longitudinal questionnaire study, men answered monthly questionnaires
six times about their psychological well-being and emotion regulation
strategies while undergoing a life transition. The participants included firsttime
fathers (n=97), men diagnosed with testicular cancer (n=33), men who
retired (n=79), and a control group of men who did not experience any significant
life events (n=92).
Results showed that psychological well-being developed differently
within the groups during the observation period. Well-being in cancer
patients improved, while for fathers it declined, and it did not change for
retirees and controls. All groups changed in reported use of emotion regulation
strategies, and the groups differed in changes in acceptance, positive
re-appraisal, and perspective. However, the pattern of change was inconsistent,
and there were no age differences in the development of strategies. In
conclusion, the study did not provide a clear picture of potential development
in emotion regulation during life transitions.
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